Soulmates
by Faeries and Vampyres
Summary: For as long as there have been sentient beings, there was an interesting oddity about them. Each person, each sentient being, can hear the voice of their soulmate in their head, as long as the soulmate is alive, of course. The SebaCiel soulmate AU no one asked for but we all want. ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE- SEE PROFILE
1. Prologue

For as long as there have been sentient beings, there was an interesting oddity about them. Each person, each sentient being, can hear the voice of their soulmate in their head, as long as the soulmate is alive, of course.

To humans, soulmates were the person whose personality would best match yours. It didn't necessarily have to be a romantic match, though most were. It could be anything, to them. Lovers, best friends, completely platonic, it didn't matter. To humans, soulmates were just fitting personalities. It could certainly get awkward at times, if they weren't romantically involved, which was why they usually were (arranged marriages and such notwithstanding).

To the angels, soulmates were a blessing. Not all of them had soulmates, so it was a rare and happy thing if they did have one. But, of course, it was always platonic and practically never romantic, because they're all about 'pure' and 'not defiling themselves and making themselves obscene in the eyes of the lord through sexual acts' like that. Weirdos.

To the grim reapers, soulmates were their partners. Each grim reaper paired up, with their soulmate, and did their job with them. They always worked together (though they may not necessarily be fond of one another- it was actually just as common to find a pair who despised each other as it was to find a pair who didn't), and they strengthened their abilities based on how close they were to the other.

The exception to all of these previous beings, however, were demons. To demons, soulmates are everything. Demons have to eat souls to survive, but souls are sort of a poison to them as well. It's a controlled suicide to save your own life situation, eating souls. Demons can't stand them, but have to eat them; it's the only way they can survive. When a demon finds their soulmate, however, they no longer have to eat souls to survive and easily manage to just live off the natural energy emitted by their soulmates. It's like having to eat your least favorite foods all your life because that's all you can eat, then meeting someone and being able to eat just your favorite types of food forever, if you wanted a human metaphor for it. Just about all demons have romantic relationships with their soulmates, mainly because it makes sense. Being around them allows them to function without having to devour souls, therefore, living with them and being near at practically all times was almost a no brainer.

Most times, a being's soulmate was the same type of being. There were times when a demon and an angel, or a demon and reaper, or angel and reaper, were soulmates, but never, in all of history, has one of these supernatural beings had a human soulmate.

It was absolutely unheard of, because soulmates were supposed to be able to protect each other, and even if it sounded bad, humans just weren't as strong as the other three types of beings. There had never once been a human- whatever soulmate bond.

However, just because it had never happened before, didn't mean it can't happen.

The very first human that had a soulmate who was one of these beings was known to the majority of England as Earl Ciel Phantomhive, known to the royal family and a select few others as The Queen's Guard Dog, rulers of the underworld.


	2. Chapter 1

Malphas had always been concerned about his soulmate. Growing up, he had never had his soulmate's voice in his head. If your soulmate was alive, you'd be able to hear them, no matter what.

He hadn't worried at first, thinking that maybe he was just the older one. They'd be born soon, there was no worries about it.

However, as the centuries passed by, and no voice was ever heard, Malphas began to grow concerned.

Shouldn't his soulmate have been born by now? Where was he or she? Had he been born too late? Born way too early?

Malphas had heard stories (who hadn't) of demons who never found their soulmates for whatever reason (they died young or whatever), the stories of the demons who went crazy in search of their other half. Those demons were the ones who gave Hell and all demons a bad name.

So Malphas was concerned. Why hadn't his soulmate been born yet? Or did he not have a soulmate?

That was the worst possibility. The other types of creatures- angels, shinigami, and humans- could easily function without one. Soulmates were just a nice thing to have, to them. But for demons it was different. A demon's soulmate is their everything. Their soulmate is their sanity, their home, their life, everything. For a demon not to have one was just… unbearable.

So where was his?

More centuries passed, and Malphas found himself becoming a bit more cruel, a little more distasteful of other beings, a little more like the demons humans portrayed in legends.

He didn't like it. It wasn't him. He shouldn't be like that.

Malphas tried everything he could possibly do to try and keep a hold of himself, of his sanity, but he was slipping.

So, when he finally felt a soul connect to his, and a new mind connected to his begin to form, he was immensely relieved.

Ciel tilted his head as he looked at the "homework" he had been assigned by his tutor. ' _Mal?'_ He asked his soulmate, knowing the older male might help. Either he would tell him to figure it out himself because relying on someone else (even a soulmate) is moronic, or he would be ridiculously happy to help. He always was one or the other, for some reason. Ciel knew most soulmates weren't as, well, clingy (that seemed like the wrong word but it was all Ciel could think of)- perhaps overprotective was better- as Mal (as he introduced himself) was, but that was okay with Ciel.

' _Yes?'_ His soulmate replied, sounding a little stressed.

' _Do you know French?'_ Ciel asked, ignoring how Mal seemed stressed. Last time Ciel asked about it, Mal refused to reply, and asked him to just drop the subject, so Ciel figured it was probably the same in this case as well.

' _I do, why?'_

' _I need help with my French work.'_

He heard a mental snicker of the other end of the connection and pouted (what, he was five, he was allowed to pout). ' _Is it really that difficult?'_

' _It's conjugation,'_ Ciel replied, annoyed.

' _Ah, yes, conjugation, the most difficult part of learning,'_ Mal said sarcastically. Ciel gave up on trying to get help and just ignored him, going back to his work. At least he was learning early (five was definitely early to learn another language, since most other British kids his age were only just starting to learn how to use English properly), so it would be easier for him to learn other languages later. His father did say once that the earlier you learn, the better you learn.

"Ciel!" Ciel looked up at the yell, noting his betrothed, Lizzy, run into the room.

Ciel smiled. "Hi, Lizzy. How was your day?" He and Lizzy were cousins, and even though they were engaged to be married, they had both agreed that it would only be a public marriage. Within the privacy of the manor, they would only be best friends. They also both agreed that no matter what happened, they wouldn't judge each other for anything. The reason being was that same-sex relationships were declared 'works of the devil' by the Church, according to quite a few people who were devout Christian's, child slavery was okay by the Church. Ciel and Lizzy both had soulmates who happened to be something that went against the church (well, Ciel did- Lizzy's soulmate was the second situation, and was 'okay'), so they weren't _that_ fond of the Church. Ciel's was obviously Mal, and Lizzy's was some guy named James Macken.

"It was great," Lizzy gushed, sitting in a chair, "mother took me to London and we got such cute clothes! Or," here she looked slightly sheepish, "I did, at least. Mother didn't."

Ciel nodded, grinning at her. "I figured as much. Aunt Francis really doesn't like cute clothes, does she?"

She snickered, "No, she doesn't. Now, Ciel, can you help me figure out how to get my brother in a dress?"

' _And the future Emperor of Hell, Lucifer, which means morning star in Latin by the way, was cast from Heaven and became a demon,'_ Mal finished the story, though Ciel didn't know this, as he had fallen asleep already. He had agreed to tell Ciel a bedtime story but for some odd (to Ciel at least) reason, he didn't know any actual bedtime stories, only demon and angel lore. Or history and other academic things. He knew a lot about those things, actually. Ciel often wondered why.

Well, either way he was currently asleep because Mal, even though he had crap stories, was good at telling said crap stories, so it worked either way.

"Father? Why do some people fall in love with their soulmates but others don't?" Ciel asked, sitting on the second chair in his father's office while the man looked through his bookshelf.

Vincent turned around to face him, book in hand and a slightly confused expression on his face. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was curious because some people marry them and live with them for the rest of their lives and others hate their soulmates. I don't get it," Ciel shrugged.

Vincent tilted his head and gave him an amused look. "Well, it all depends on your soulmate's personality. The concept of soulmates is basically someone who is perfect for you in every way, but your relationship with them is your decision. Some people don't like the thought of someone fitting their personality perfectly, and so they and their soulmate don't get along. Other people like the romantic attachments to the concept of soulmates and end up pursuing a romantic relationship. Others just take it as platonic, basically a best friend you can always talk to no matter what. It could be any reason, really," he explained, sitting in his own chair.

Ciel nodded, thinking it over. It made sense. "I see, thank you for explaining father."

Vincent chuckled, "No problem. I assume you were curious about any possible relationships with your own soulmate in the future? As well as your other reason, of course."

Ciel gave him a bit of a sheepish grin. "Yeah…" Vincent laughed, shaking his head just a bit as he opened his book and picked up his quill pen, positioning it over a piece of paper, obviously intending to do his paperwork. Ciel stood up, leaving the office to leave his father in peace.

Ciel's eyes snapped open to heat. While this wasn't unusual considering it was winter, so the manor was kept warm, this heat was too much. It was too hot to be just the manor.

Looking around, he almost screamed. There was fire, fire everywhere. He rocketed out of bed and ran for the door, looking for his parents, who he noticed weren't in the bed with him like they should be. Where were they? What happened? Why was the manor on fire?

' _Ciel? Ciel, what's wrong?_ ' Mal asked concernedly in his mind, but he was ignored by the almost panicking ten year old.

Ciel ended up at the doorway to his father's study, seeing him sitting on the chair with their dog at his feet calmly as if nothing had happened, fire wrapping around all the walls of the room. But Ciel saw blood, saw it dripping from his wrist, pooling around his feet.

' _No, no, no,'_ Ciel thought, shaking his head as if to clear the images from his eyesight as if it were only a bad dream. The image before him didn't change. He was dead. Vincent, Ciel's father, was dead.

' _Ciel?'_ Mal was getting worried, but Ciel still ignored him in favor of looking for anyone else in the manor. ' _What's going on? Answer me, Ciel! I need to know if you're okay!'_

Ciel took a deep breath and backed away slowly for a few steps, before turning and running. "Tanaka!" He exclaimed, relieved to see at least one person alive.

Tanaka turned and his eyes widened. "Young master!" He exclaimed, running over and almost dragging Ciel from the manor. "You need to get out of here, now."

"What about mother? What happened to her?" Ciel asked frantically, ignoring Tanaka's words for the time being.

Tanaka shook his head, not answering the question.

' _Nonononono,'_ Ciel was getting even more panicked.

' _Ciel!'_ Mal's voice was almost panicked now, which was not normal. That had never happened before. Mal didn't get panicked, he worried a bit, sure, but he didn't get panicked. It just didn't happen. But Ciel had no time, no base of stability, to reflect on that at the moment.

"Go. Get out of here a-" Tanaka was cut off by a pained noise, which Ciel dimly realized came from Tanaka himself.

Blood. There was blood everywhere again, but this time it was from Tanaka. It wasn't the blood from his father like in the study, but it was from Tanaka.

Before Ciel could register this, he went unconscious.

When he woke up, his head was pounding and he had no idea where he was. "What?" He tried to stand up, and managed it, but he couldn't move very well. Looking down, he saw a metal shackle around his ankle, chained to the corner of what Ciel was in, which he then realized was a cage.

' _Mal? Mal, are you there?'_ He asked mentally, looking around, afraid.

' _Ciel!'_ Mal sounded relieved. ' _What happened? You wouldn't answer me, and then your side went black.'_

Being reminded of what had happened before he woke up in the cage made Ciel shake slightly. Instead of replying, he instead just sent the memory to Mal, which was difficult, but Mal had taught him how to do it, saying that it was a good way to explain things if you don't want to actually explain it.

' _Oh,'_ Mal said quietly. ' _I see. Where are you?'_

' _I- I don't know. I'm,'_ Ciel trailed off as he heard footsteps. Ciel shook a little bit again, eyes widening as two people in all white, with white halfmasks and hoods to hide their identities, came in the room, looking around at the other cages with children in them, which Ciel hadn't noticed until now.

They stopped in front of Ciel's cage, and the ten year old took a shaky step back. They laughed maliciously. "Where'd you get this one?" One of them asked his companion.

The other one smirked at the first. "Bought him off the benefactor. Cost more than two of the others combined, but it was well worth it. He's the Phantomhive heir."

The first snickered, a smirk curling his face as well. "A noble, eh? Oh this'll be good. We can use him in our large ceremony."

"My thoughts exactly," the second said as they wandered off, looking at the other children in cages.

' _Ciel?'_ Mal poked at his side of the connection gently.

' _I don't know where I am. But I was apparently sold. I think it's a cult.'_ Ciel told him absently, in a bit of shock from what he had just learnt.

There was an animalistic growl from Mal's side of the connection. ' _I'll find you, Ciel,'_ he vowed, ' _don't worry. And when I do, they're all dead.'_


	3. Chapter 2

Malphas paced the foyer of his mansion in Hell. This was ridiculous. It had been a month since Ciel's kidnapping and he was no closer than before. How did that happen? Humans weren't able to mask their presence or previous presence like that. They just didn't have the divine power to do so.

Growling a bit, Malphas racked his brain for anything he might be able to do but hadn't yet. Maybe one of his informants found something, though they all were practically useless in this. Maybe someone else would know, wait. Malphas paused. That was actually a good idea. Ciel was ten, a child, and was being held by a cult, presumably tortured, and would be used as a sacrifice for a ritual.

Child sacrifice. Moloch. He was practically the patron of child sacrifice, and, to a lesser extent, torture. If anyone would know where Ciel was, it would be him.

Striding to his door, he went over what he would say to his friend. How would he get Moloch to tell him Ciel's location? Oh, wait, Moloch owed him a favor. Perfect. Malphas could just call that in and get Ciel's location from him that way. Absolutely perfect.

Stepping outside, he looked around and noticed Moloch was standing around just past the grounds. "Moloch!" He yelled, waving his friend over.

In just a flash, Moloch was standing in front of him. "You called?" He asked cheekily, grinning.

Malphas rolled his eyes slightly, but a grin also formed on his face. "I'm calling in that favor you owe me."

Moloch immediately became serious, standing up straighter and giving Malphas his full attention. "What do you need me to tell you?"

"Are there any children, about ten years old, in England currently being tortured by a cult with the intention of being used in a ritual?" Malphas asked after leading Moloch inside and securing the room. He didn't care if the question sounded odd or if he was being paranoid, this was his soulmate they were talking about. He wouldn't let anything happen to Ciel if he could help it, and now he intended on actually becoming a physical part of his life instead of just being the voice in his head.

Moloch raised an eyebrow. "Oddly specific information request but okay, I'll bite. Yes, there are a few."

Malphas' shoulders slumped in slight relief- he'd be able to help. "Where are they? Do you know their names? Can you get me to them if you don't?"

Moloch started to shake his head, then stopped halfway through the action and looked considering. "I can't do the first two, but the third… if you know which of them you're looking for, and they're used in a summoning ritual, I can connect it to you instead of either taking it or redirecting it to one of my servants instead."

Malphas looked up at the slightly taller, and older, demon and gave him a grateful smile. "His name is Ciel Phantomhive, and I'm pretty sure it's some sort of summoning ritual he's being used for, though I'm not as sure if it'll be a demon they're trying to summon. Will that be enough information?"

Moloch thought about it, seeming to weigh it out. "Not enough to get you there. Certainly, I could answer the summons when it happens even if it isn't a demon one but I wouldn't be able to connect you instead. Is there anything else you can tell me that'll help?"

Malphas looked his friend in the eye, considering the merits of telling him that Ciel was his soulmate. On one hand, Moloch had been there for him since he was a kid, helping him keep his sanity, as the older demon had met his soulmate young and therefore was in no danger of losing it. On the other, they were demons and betrayal was a pretty common thing.

However, this was _Moloch_ , his absolute best friend…

"He's my soulmate," Malphas said finally, looking for any reactions in Moloch.

Moloch's eyes widened before a slightly relieved grin spread across his face. "I was worried you'd never find them. A human though, that's pretty odd. Then again, so are you, so I guess it fits. Okay," here he clapped his hands together, looking much brighter, "with that, I would easily be able to connect you. No problem. We'll just have to wait for the summoning ritual to happen, however long that may be."

Malphas closed his eyes, knowing that he wouldn't be able to help for a while. They startled open when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, though. Moloch was looking at him, concern evident. "Mal, I know that this will be tough, standing around and waiting until the ritual, but I can't get you there earlier."

Malphas nodded, "I know, Moloch, and I'm grateful you're even doing this at all. You and I both know the favor you owed me only extended to information."

Moloch shrugged, grinning again. "Yes, well, the human is your soulmate, you said so yourself. What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't help you out?"

Malphas grinned back, and though it was understandably strained, they both conveniently ignored that fact. "Thank you."

' _Ciel, I've got a way to get to you, but I can't do it until the ritual you're being used for. I'm sorry, but can you wait until then?'_ He asked, waving Moloch away as he left, presumably to talk to Leviatha, his soulmate.

' _Why does it have to be then?'_ Ciel asked, and Malphas could feel his curiosity.

' _I've told you stories, sorties about demons, angels, and shinigami. Haven't you ever wondered why I knew so much about them? Ciel, I can only get to you once that ritual is underway because a friend of mine will be helping me answer the ritual instead of whoever it was meant for.'_

There was a brief silence, then: ' _You're a demon, aren't you?'_

Malphas blinked as he sat down. ' _Yes, I am. How did you figure that out when you know angels and shinigami also exist?'_

' _Well, you said yourself in those stories that angels rarely have soulmates, and the way you talk about some of the darker periods of history where people died by the dozens was a little too bloodthirsty. Angel can be ruled out, but due to the people dying obviously interested you thing, one could think shinigami, however you have said that they're boring workaholics, and while you could possibly just be demeaning yourself along with your race, you said how the other two all hate demons and yet you spoke rather highly of them. You also know more about demons than the other two, therefore, the logical conclusion is that you're a demon.'_ Ciel replied, shocking Malphas.

' _Well, Ciel, I knew you were smart but wow. That is insane.'_ Malphas didn't know why he was surprised. This was Ciel, his little soulmate. Of course he would have figured it out.

' _Well, I wanted something to do to not focus on what's happening now, so I thought about your stories a lot, and figured that either you were a Satanist or a demon.'_ Ciel said dryly and Malphas snorted.

' _I don't see a difference between Satanists and demons, really,'_ he replied jokingly, much to Ciel's amusement.

It took about another month until the ritual itself was to be done. A long, ridiculously agonizing month for both of them. When Moloch came barreling into his home, Leviatha following him excitedly, Malphas knew it was time.

"No pleasantries, just get on with it," he said to his friend, standing. Slightly out of breath (odd for a demon, considering they didn't breathe), Moloch nodded and put his hands on Malphas' shoulders.

A faint purple glow surrounded him, then Malphas was pulled away, appearing in the corner of a room just in time to see someone about to plunge a knife into the chest of a child he instinctively knew to be his soulmate.

Reacting faster than the human eye could perceive, he ran forward and grabbed the knife, knocking over the person and standing in front of the table Ciel was strapped to protectively. "Now, now. We mustn't stab people who are protected by beings beyond your wildest imagines," he said tauntingly to the person on the floor, before he threw the knife into his chest, right in the general area of the heart. The man died instantly. Malphas smirked. "After all, it could prove fatal."

The people surrounding them were frozen in fear, and Malphas took the advantage from that to kill them all quickly, efficiently, and painfully, before returning to untie his soulmate.

"Hey, Mal." Ciel said, grimacing as Malphas helped him sit up. His hand went to his side, where Malphas had seen a burnt-on mark on it. It made him growl slightly, seeing it, but he ignored that in favor of checking over Ciel.

"Hello, little one." He replied quietly, wrapping his arms around Ciel and lifting him up bridal style. "Come on, we should get going."

"Where are we going?" Ciel asked mildly, resting his head on Malphas' shoulder and letting his eyes droop. Malphas didn't blame him for being tired; Lucifer knows he hadn't gotten any actual rest either.

"To my home in Hell. We'll be there perhaps a month to ensure you're healed before we return here," Malphas replied as he made his way to one of the gates, where the human world met with Hell (there were others, for heaven and the shinigami realm, too, but Malphas never cared for them).

"Why would we be coming back?" Ciel asked, looking up at him curiously. "I thought you would keep me in Hell with you or something."

Malphas gave a slightly dark smile to him, "Well, you do want revenge against whoever caused this," here he gestured to the scar on his torso and back in the direction of the place he had been tortured, "don't you?"

Ciel nodded, lips twisting into a thoughtful frown for a moment. "Good point."

Malphas crossed through the portal before twisting the shadows around him to bring them directly to his room. He set Ciel on his bed, while calling for Leviatha and Moloch to come in.

Leviatha immediately set to work to heal Ciel, because even though she was a water monster that protected a demonic sword, she was also quite skilled in medicinal things.

After a while, she had done all she could so she and Moloch left. Malphas sat in a chair next to the bed, and Ciel was sitting against the headboard, knees drawn up to his chest. Sometime during Leviatha's healing he had grabbed one of Malphas' pillows and was hugging it between his knees and chest. It was adorable, honestly.

"So, Mal, is your name really Mal or is it something else?" Ciel asked, looking over to him.

Malphas grinned, "I was wondering when you'd ask that. No, it's not necessarily Mal, though that is a common nickname among those who know me. My full name, however, is Malphas."

Ciel tilted his head. "Malphas… I've heard that name before. Aren't you a Prince of Hell?"

Malphas nodded, "I am, and because the hierarchy in Hell is a bit different than that of the human monarchies, it is actually more similar to the position that your family holds. Had the hierarchy of Hell been defined the same way as human monarchies, I would be an Earl."

Ciel nodded, considering that. "What's the hierarchy of Hell, then?"

"Well, there's the Emperor at the top, which is Satan, then there's Great Kings, Kings, Greats Princes, Princes, Great Marquises, Marquises, Great Dukes, Dukes, Great Earls, Earls, Great Presidents, Presidents, Knights, and Great Marshals, at the bottom of the entire hierarchy." Malphas explained, "And since human monarchies are different and have much less levels, that is why I would be considered an Earl there, even if that's an insult to my position here."

"That makes sense, I suppose. So, are you going to come with me back to the human world?" Ciel asking, changing the subject.

Malphas nodded, "Yes. I will not leave you alone after what happened. Besides," here, he smirked, "can you imagine the sort of things you'll be able to accomplish with a demon at your side?"


End file.
